Maritz Travel Acquires Experient from Riverside and VSS

Maritz Travel, a provider of full-service meeting, event and incentive travel programs to corporate clients has acquired Experient, also a provider of meeting and event services from private equity owners Riverside Company and Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

PRESS RELEASE

Maritz Travel, a global leader in providing full-service meeting, event and incentive travel programs to corporate clients, today announced it has acquired Experient, another top provider of meeting and event services to associations, tradeshows, corporations and the US government. As two of the largest and most respected companies in the meetings and events industry, Maritz and Experient now will expand their collective ability to deliver a full range of exceptional event experiences.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. of New York, NY, the leading independent investment bank for the media, information, marketing services, and technology sectors, represented Experient owners private equity firms Riverside Company and Veronis Suhler Stevenson in this transaction and acted as their exclusive financial advisor.

“As a result of this deal, Maritz Travel will lead the industry in four key areas – corporate, association, tradeshow and strategic meetings management. Coming together this way will fuel our shared objective to grow in the markets we serve,” said David Peckinpaugh, President of Maritz Travel. “By combining, we will expand the capabilities we bring to clients beyond what either of us might offer independently.”

Maritz’ end-to-end service delivery model will be enhanced by Experient’s ability to provide additional full and select services (including registration, housing, site sourcing/contract negotiation and lead retrieval). As a result, the combined companies will be able to tailor services that better align with clients’ specific needs. Clients also will benefit from 12 regional locations, deepened industry influence and the ability to serve clients across corporate, association, tradeshow and government markets.

Maritz Travel and Experient are long-time leaders in the business events industry. While individually they represent significant business event market share — and lead industry innovations such as a model approach for client- and audience-centric experiences — together, they are even stronger. In 2011, their combined impact represented more than $2 billion in industry volume spend and nearly 3 million travelers served.

“Both Maritz Travel and Experient have been stable and innovative forces on behalf of our clients over the challenges of the last few years,” said Peckinpaugh. “The event industry has had to evolve as a result of a volatile business environment. Spend is returning to pre-recession levels, and together Maritz Travel and Experient are leading the market in delivering the flexibility and range of services organizations need to achieve growing and increasingly aggressive business results.”

“This is a great day for Experient employees and our clients. I’m particularly excited about the cultural fit between Maritz and Experient,” said Jeff Price, CEO of Experient, who has shepherded this acquisition by Maritz Travel. “Our companies share core values, especially our commitment to helping clients achieve better business value by delivering exceptional event experiences for their participants.”

About Experient
Experient leads the industry as one of the best-known and most respected brands in the event management world. Its core services include providing registration, housing, event planning and management, site sourcing/contract negotiation, and lead retrieval services for association, corporate and government clients. Experient employs professionals dedicated to fulfilling its vision of perfecting the event experience to deliver leading-edge thinking, experience and technology solutions for meetings, conventions and tradeshows around the world. For more information, visit www.experient-inc.com.

About Maritz Travel
St. Louis-based Maritz Travel, the global leader in achieving business results through the effective use of meeting, event and incentive travel programs, is dedicated to transforming business through people and events. Maritz Travel works with companies to reward and recognize top performers, ensure effective communications to customers and staff, spur innovation through enhanced collaboration, and improve customer, employee and channel partner engagement.

About The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc.
The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) of New York, NY is the leading provider of independent investment banking services for the media, information, marketing services and technology sectors. Since 1987, JEGI has completed more than 500 high-profile M&A transactions for global corporations; middlemarket and emerging companies; entrepreneurial owners; and private equity and venture capital firms.